X-Men: Corruption
by lilbigEnano96
Summary: Corruption has come to claim the earth, and the new X-Men are not there to save it, having disbanded and gone their separate ways. Now, the former X-Men Hellion and X-23 travel with an old friend of theirs, the former Legion, and a strange girl that claims to know him for some time hoping to bring light back to the world.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: First off, before we start with this one, I don't own Hellion, X-23 or any of the Marvel characters in this story (except the ones I made up, like say, one of the main characters). Next let's clear some things up: ONE: This is an AU, simple as that. TWO: This MIGHT eventually become a Hellion/X-23, just give it some time. THREE: I let my brain take off here so just read this with an open mind. If you like it great, if not that's O.K. too. Alright then, on to the story.**

**X-Men: Corruption:**

**Chapter 1:**

**Nightmares of Tomorrow, Realities of Today:**

**Three months ago…**

The X-man Hellion awoke from a dreamless sleep in alert. He was expecting to be annihilated with the rest of his teammates among the chaos during the battle at the Golden Gate Bridge; he was mistaken. In reality, he was in a very well prepared bed in what looked like a hospital room; he was hooked up to AV machines and his heart rate was beginning monitored. And standing over him was his mentor Emma Frost, The White Queen herself.

"Hello Julian," she said simply as she sat in a chair next to the boy, "you've finally awoken." She stopped waiting for the boy to say something, anything.

Hellion sat up and looked at his mentor, "Where are the others?" he asked slowly. He saw Frost's expression change into something he didn't expect; Sadness.

"Julian," Frost began, but from the look she gave the boy, he could tell that this would be anything but good news.

"Where are the others?" Hellion repeated now sounding worried, "Where's Santo, Nori, Cess…Laura?" Julian looked down at his sheets; he was already assuming the worst had come to pass. "Where's…the rest of my team?" He asked afraid to know the answer.

"Safe," The White Queen responded not looking at him, "but that's just it, they've scattered." She began to get up and turned to leave the room.

"Wait, Mrs. Frost." Hellion called, the women turned and faced the boy, already knowing what his next question would be. "How long have I been out?" He asked, Frost pressed her lips, but said nothing. "How long have I been out?" Hellion repeated a little louder, "A day, two, three days?"

She finally spoke with a hint of coldness in her voice, "Two weeks Julian." The women let this hang in the air for a few moments.

"Where are my friends?"

Frost turned back, "Disbanded," she said sighing, "The Hellions no longer exist." And so she left the boy, no longer Hellion but Julian Keller, in hospital bed in both anger and agony. Frost felt pity for the boy, she really did; first he lost his hands, and now he lost his team.

**Present day: Manhattan, New York City:**

In the busy streets of New York as its busy citizens walked back and forth to and from work, no one paid much attention to the two girls walking out of a local café sighing in frustration. No one seemed to notice that the older red haired girls skin was liquid mercury and nobody would have guessed the other had six adamantiam coated claws inside her hands and feet. Nobody knew that Cessily Kincaid, the former Mercury, and Laura Kinney, allies X-23, were mutants… and at one point X-Men.

Cessily sighed as she sat down outside a pharmacy, "Well, this is the third fail this week." She said giving her friend a worried look.

The raven haired girl gave a weak smile, "At least the people there could stand mutants." She sighed and joined her friend, "Guess I should get out of your hair now huh?" she said, the metal girls eyes widened.

"No! No really, it's ok." She said placing a hand on Laura's shoulder, "It's no trouble staying with me and Santo; you're like a sister to me Laura, we'll all make it through…somehow." Laura smiled at her friend's selflessness, remembering all the fond memories of her days as a Hellion alongside Cessily and Sooraya.

*Where did that go?* She thought sadly to herself, *I know I probably complained much back then, but now, I miss those days.* a single tear might have fallen if Laura had not acted quickly enough. "Come on," Laura said getting up and offering her hand to her friend, "let's go home. Maybe hearing some of Santo's pointless jokes will cheer us up."

"Yeah," Cessily said taking it, "I'm tired, maybe we'll try again tomorrow."

The small house that served as a home for Mercury, X-23, and the former Rockslide was a complete mess when the girls returned (It was also a mess before they left). Santo was blankly flipping through T.V. channels until he heard the loud thumping of Laura's boots. The golem turned his massive head and smiled as his two friends entered. "So how'd it go?" he asked completely ignoring the television set.

"How does it look like?" Cessily sighed sitting down next to him, Laura remained standing.

""Was it that bad?" Santo asked sounding like the older brother Mercury always saw him as.

"Yes it was," Mercury sighed, "and I'm sorry if I sounded harsh, it's been a long tiring day."

"Hey don't worry about it Cess," Santo said returning to his earlier assignment, then, as if he noticed that Laura was there for the first time, he suddenly remembered something apparently important. "That's right I forgot to tell you," Santo said nodding to her cell phone on the counter, "the crier boy for emos called today asking for you X."

"Julian?" Both girls say aloud and look at each other.

"Yep that's the one." He said, then he turn towards the girl and asked, "Why'd you even buy a phone? You never answer it when someone calls." Laura just shrugs.

"Much like Julian these days," Cessily added with a small smile that implied she knew something the others didn't, "maybe there's a connection somewhere." The other girl just sighed and took the phone, walking back to her seat. *Of course there's a connection,* Cessily thought looking at Laura smiling, *Yet nether of the two notice it.*

Laura's eyes scanned the messages on her phone, most of them were left by her brother/originator/adoptive father Logan, two or three were by Rachael Summers, she even got a message from Noriko Ashida (Who was back in Japan doing God-knows-What in who-knows-where.), and finally then she spotted a huge long one from Julian. The girl sighed, *Really Julian,* she thought, *you haven't said a word to us for two months now and you can't even place a damn call?* "I'll talk to him later," She said getting up and yawning, "right now, I just wanna get some sleep."

As the raven haired girl slept, she dreamt an unusual dream. It was not the usual nightmares of the horrible things done to her as a child, no; today she dreamt a different dream. Laura was standing near cliffs overlooking a great sea below; behind her the sun was shining a peaceful glow over all the strange land. The girl lied down on the soft grass and gazed at the sky, she had to admit, this was the most peaceful dream she had ever experienced; she almost wished she could stay there forever. Then the darkness came.

Black clouds began creeping into the clear blue sky, bringing a sense of dread. The plants began to wither and die off, and the grass lost its color. Laura sat up quickly and stared at the once lively oasis, now becoming like most of her twisted nightmares, a dead, deserted wasteland. As she peered at the now black water below, Laura gasped as she saw sick, twisted human-like creatures clawing their way upward; Laura could hear their strange ramblings in her head. Then she heard an otherworldly voice groan out two simple words that sent chills down her spine.

"**Three…Days…" **it said, as Laura heard an inhuman scream from that made her blood run cold. It sounded so close, yet so far away.

Then, the dream ended as quickly and as mysterious as it began.

**A/N: This is going to start off a bit slow I'm afriad, but hopefully, it'll get better.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: **

**The Clone And The Telekinetic Reunited:**

After several hours of lying awake and staring at the ceiling, Laura couldn't take the silence any longer. If it weren't for the faint singing of the crickets or the occasional car zooming past, she thought she might go mad. She tired many times to shut her eyes and sleep, but the voices of the creatures would resurface to haunt her. "Three days," she repeated, "three days for what?" she sighed and sat up. She had made up her mind, she would call Julian now.

**Beverly Hills, California:**

The sixteen year old did not get much sleep that night. It was worse when his team disbanded; back then, he would stay awake the entire night painfully thinking of his team, his friends, and most importantly of Laura. That was one of the reasons why he hated himself. He never told her what he felt for her, at least, not at the right time that is. He wished he had another chance, to actually let his feelings out. The only problem with that is, would she feel the same? Tonight however, he was simply waiting. He had almost lost hope she would reply, then he heard his phone vibrate close to where he was. He scrambled to where it was and immediately said, "Hello?"

"Julian," said her voice, sending the boy's hopes skyrocketing, "were you sleeping?"

"Actually…no," Julian said scratching the back of neck, "I'm guessing you haven't either?"

Julian heard Laura give a small laugh on the other end, "When'd you become a telepath?" she asked him.

"I don't know." he said, then remembering his old Physics teacher he added, "Maybe I went through a second mutation." Julian looked over at where his old Hellion gear was, and a sad smile appeared on his face. He could've become the next Cyclopes of a new generation of X-men, he could've become a hero to the people…But that illusion had shattered along with his former team.

"Julian, are you alright?" Laura asked after he had been quiet for a long time.

"Yeah, just…remembering the good old days," he said. Laura sighed at the other end, both were silent for a long time. Then it hit him, he had nothing better to do, and apparently Laura couldn't sleep either so maybe, just maybe…

'Hey Laura," Julian asked nervously, "are you busy tomorrow?"

"No why?"

Julian smiled already wishing he was there, "You'll see in the morning."

"Wait, you're not possibly-" Julian cut Laura off before she could finish.

"See you in the morning Laura." With that he hung up.

**Back in New York, morning time:**

Laura was tapping her foot anxiously. She wore a plain white shirt under a leather jacket and a pair of torn pants with combat boots. Cessily and Santo were already eating breakfast, both confused as to why she was dressed as she was. Laura had settled for black coffee instead of any of the food that her companions were enjoying. *Knowing him he's probably flying all the way over here.* Laura thought sipping at her mug, looking at the dark liquid made her dream resurface. Laura had already assumed that she was dealing with another demon trying to take away her sanity, but part of her knew the incident with Logon becoming possessed was not repeating itself. This felt different, it was different someone or something was calling her. "Something bad is going to happen soon," she muttered to herself, "of that much I'm sure."

"What's that X?" Santo asked with a mouthful of food, he and Cessily had heard some of what she had said and were staring at her.

"Oh nothing." She lied forcing a smile as a knock was heard at the door. The two mutants at the table looked at each other but said nothing as Laura opened the door. There stood Julian at the doorway wearing his old Hellions outfit, displaying the X symbol proudly as a soldier would his medals.

"Julian!" Mercury cried rushing to her old friend and practically knocking him backwards with a hug. "When did you…" she looked at Laura, "so that's why you looked like you were waiting on something."

"I honestly didn't believe you were coming," Laura said looking at Julian, "but then again I know you."

"Would I lie?" The boy asked smiling a little.

"Maybe a little."

Santo tried in vain not to laugh at Julian hair, which he knew irritated Keller to no end. "Jeez Keller," Santo said forcing back a laugh, "I see you still can't let the emo look go." Julian frowned; he realized that letting his hair grow shoulder length was one of the worst ideas that crossed his mind. Sure, Cess and the others let it go after about three weeks, but nope, not Santo, for him to let go of something like this would be impossible.

"You really need to cut your hair Julian," Cessily agreed grabbing a lock of his pitch dark hair, "It's starting to look like a girls."

Julian sighed, "Look guys, I didn't fly all the way from across the U.S. just so you two could give me beauty and fashion tips." He paused to make his point clear, "I just came to talk to Laura." Then added, "And of course to see you guys, I mean come on we haven't hung out since…" Julian didn't finish, couldn't finish, the ending of the sentence died on his lips.

"I'll see you guys later," Laura told Cessily and Santo, sensing the memories returning as well. "Come on Julian." She said taking his hand (to be more precise, the metallic fingers that were his new hands) and leading him towards the busy streets of Manhattan.

The two mutants were now seated at a small café each enjoying breakfast with a glass of fruit juice. Julian liked it like this, unlike Cess and Santo, he and Laura didn't have to try hiding the fact that they were mutants. They could go out as themselves not needing to take extra clothing to hide their mutations from any anti-mutant protesters running through the streets of New York.

At first, the two friends talked about what they've been doing since the team disbanded who they've met up with and how they both wish that for one day at least, the entire team would join together to just hang out and relax. Then as they were getting ready to leave, Julian remembered one of the reasons he made this trip. "Laura," The telekinetic said slowly, his tone serous, "when you called me last night…did you have like, a weird dream?"

Laura's smile faded, "Yes, I did." She said. Laura then began to retell her strange dream that turned in to a nightmare; Julian listened to her every detail, not interrupting once until she was finished. The girl saw shock and surprise in Julian's eyes for only mere seconds, but he did a great job hiding them afterwards. "So what do you think?" Laura asked him after a moment of silence.

"I think you and I are dreaming about the same place." Julian said as he began his own tale.

"I was in a place that sounds a lot like where you were; a field that looked like it belonged to another time. I was at a crossroad. In front of me stood a lake with animals drinking and eating nearby, behind me a huge forest with trees everywhere, to my left mountains could be seen piercing the sky, and to my right I saw what looked like an endless meadow. I thought to myself that this was a breathtaking sight, the kind you only hear about in fairy tales where the hero rescues the princess. Then I noticed the clouds beginning to darken and I heard thunder roaring nearby. I didn't know where I was and much less what to do, so I stood there watching the animals flee in terror and the fields set ablaze. Then I heard them, I turned around and saw things that would make a person's skin crawl, Christ, I couldn't even look at their faces they were so sick. One of them grabbed me by my shirt and pulled me close to where he was.

I heard his snarling growl say something that I remember every time I close my eyes, **"Your world is next…"** Then I felt something cut through me, and the next thing I know, I'm in my bed sweating and panting, feeling like my heart would burst out of my chest any minute."

Julian sighed as he finished. "It does sound a lot like my dream," Laura admitted, "Only that when it was over, something was leading me somewhere, as if whoever's doing this wants for me to go someplace."

"Us." He corrected, "And I think I know where these dreams are taking us to." Julian sighed, he knew alright, but he didn't have to like it. "Do you remember Legion?" he asked her

Laura nodded once she remembered the codename, "Yeah I remember Alex, you two never got along. That is, until you lost your hands." Last she heard, Legion had gone away from all the hate and found a sanctuary away from the United States, perhaps in Europe or Scotland were they tolerate mutants. "Do you know where he is?"

Julian said nothing as his gaze went upward to where the sun shined its unmerciful heat to every man in the city. "Far," he finally said, "very, very far."

"You think he's the one sending us these visions?"

"No," He said shaking his head, "he's depowered remember?" *And well to begin with, he rarely ever showed signs of even having powers.* Julian thought shivering as he remembered when Legion's powers reviled themselves to everyone.

As the two left, they started to consider actually paying their old friend a visit.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: This one was...kind of short I think. I'll try to make them bigger next time.**

**Chapter 3:**

**Legion: Post M-Day:**

With the day's work done early, Al stared at his reflection in the pound and drank the crisp, clean water that was untouched by urbanization and industrialization, much like the small, peaceful village he resided in. His skin now turned tanned from the sun beating down on him daily and his arms and back ached from all the physical work that needed to be accomplished day after day. His name was Alex, meaning "Savior of mankind", although he didn't feel much like a hero anymore, especially now that his powers were gone. Or at least that's what they told him. He however, knew different. Being a mutant all his life and holding on to his beliefs, he knew his powers would never leave no matter what; they were still there, dormant deep inside him. No longer known as the hero Legion, he traded a life of saving lives and fighting for what was right, to one of a farmer and hunter in this paradise away from the hatred and cruelty other mutants were receiving.

From the enormous pound, Al could see that Enso, the unofficial mayor and one of the protectors of the town, was calling him over. "Chores done?" he asked the youth who nodded immediately without saying a word. "Stables clean? Fields plowed? Herd grazed?" Enso smiled as the boy kept nodding his head. "Right then," Enso said giving the boy a pat on the shoulder, "rest of the days yours to do as you please." Al gave a final nod and walked to where his hut was.

Al stopped and looked back at the older man, "Are Ellie and Luke around?" he asked. Luke was an eight year old boy with dirty blonde hair and a few teeth missing. Elle was his older sister, about two or three years younger than him. Both saw Al as an older brother they looked up to and depended on (More so when their drunk of a father wasn't home), they were also the ones that came up with his nickname so he wouldn't have to use his undeserved name.

"Yeah, I saw 'em with Alfresco at his ranch, their dad's practically pissing booze right about now."

The boy nodded and started walking again.

Returning to the small yet cozy hut he called his home, Al grabbed his homemade crossbow and 12 inch dagger sharp enough to cut skin like butter and hurried off to the nearby woods to hunt for his food. Back at the institute, although he was good at multiple things including Literature and arithmetic, his best grades came from Logan's survival classes. He would also occasionally sneak out of the school and come back with a kill, so while the others were eating the schools food, he was enjoying rabbit stew or deer meat (Logan and maybe X-23 were the only ones who took notice, the later commenting on how he managed to do without being caught a number of times) Although back then he at least had his powers to help, he might have been equal in strength to Rockslide and his senses and healing factor weren't half bad either, but what he counted on the most was his speed. Not as fast as Surge but faster than an ordinary human, this ability saved his life countless of times even when faced with near death situations.

*But now they're "gone",* Al thought to himself thinking back to what both Hank McCoy and Dr. Strange commented so long ago, *least Zabula's gone for good too.* Zabula, the name of the ancient demon that wanted to possess his body, and almost succeed. When the demon was expelled, he took most of the boy's dark energy and presumed him a mere human. But, Al himself isn't even sure he's human. Well technically he isn't because he's a mutant, but he has a feeling it doesn't end there… after all, Strange commented that he was the only one who could contain the demon without dying for reasons he would not or could not explain.

His thoughts lingering towards his days at the Xavier institute, Al did anything but concentrate on the hunt, something he hasn't done in a long time. "I'm done with all that," Al says to himself as he effortlessly caught two squirrels and a rabbit, "I'm a hunter now for Pete's sake; I'm no hero, never was one anyways." His head was now flooding with memories of his past as an X-Man, as a mutant in fact. He was so caught up in them he forgot about hunting and just sat down in the tree branch. In truth he missed those days, he missed his friends and teachers, his entire squad which he came to think of as family, and even his enemies who some at one point became his allies. Then M-Day happened, only about 24 students kept their powers, and Al wasn't among them. He was however, someone who knew when he wasn't wanted and didn't wait for anyone to tell him twice about leaving. So he spilt, just like everyone else did. Some were lucky, others were killed, and some just gave up. Al felt angry; instead of him dying, other mutants younger and weaker than him were paying the toll. He had gone to hell and back, yet death refused to take him instead and chose to end the life of an innocent instead.

Sometimes he wished he could do something, anything; to save them, or even better, bring them back. Other times, he wished it were him staring the end of his life the face.

Al had decided to take his kills with him, for if he didn't either an animal might take them or they would be left to rot. And besides, he hated wasting food. In the end he kept the rabbit and gave the two squirrels to the elderly couple next door who almost always get a portion of the food he brings back. Since he had a few bits of bread left, Al made himself a bowl of rabbit stew and poured himself fresh water from the spring. (Speaking of which, tomorrow he would have to get up early and fish so he could bring home some money, even if tomorrow is his monthly day off)

Whilst he was eating, the last rays of the sun shone on his withered X-men gear, which he had hung as if both to display it and to remind himself of what he once was. It was unique to him for many reasons besides the fact that he himself designed it, he felt proud of it and happy to know that even after the battle with Nimrod, it still held together. It was a choral black jacket with gold vertical lines running down the arms and the back of the hood. It also consists of a white muscle shirt with tactical boots and pants along with a chain belt and a skull and crossbones belt buckle. The jacket itself was a bit worn out and beaten, and the boots have seen better days, but all in all, it looks the same as it did at the battle at the Golden Gate Bridge. The only thing that bothered him was where others saw greatness, he only saw shame, shame of not being worthy of being called a hero, let alone an X-men.

He walked over to it, a sad smile started to form. "Who am I kidding," he sighed, "I was never any good at playing superhero, so why…do I miss it all? Why do I miss being looked on as a sign of hope, of peace. I don't," he decided, "I miss the school and I miss my friends." His friends… Mercury… Anole… Pixie… X-23… Elixir... Hellion.*That's right,* The boy remembered, *Keller and I finally see eye to eye on things.* Al found it weird, all the time it took for them to reach a point where both could call each other friend. He chuckled to himself as he remembered all the countless times he would get Julian into trouble, and vise-versa, going from simple mischief at the school, or as far as messing up a mission completely. He also remembered how he saved Hellion and how much favors he owed him, from risking his life to save him from the facility or even a long time back when he took the hit meant for Julian…giving Zabula full control over his body.  
With a feeling of both dread and nostalgia, Al, the former Legion, let himself fall on his bed and drifted to sleep. Unaware that tomorrow would be his last day in his village for what will seem an eternity.

…And so the wheel of fate begins to turn…


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: This is really where the story begins. Enjoy**

**Chapter 4: **

**Arrival:**

The rays of the sun began to light up the earth as a new day arose. The sunlight reached Al's hut and made its way to where the teen slept. Al winced, he was not looking forward to working even the slightest bit on his only day off the entire month, but he at least had to bring some money home. The boy got up, let out a yawn, and stretched his arms as he walked to where he kept the few items he took form his dorm at Xavier's. He now wore an old plain T-shirt with faded jeans. He didn't bother combing his hair simply because all he was really doing was fishing for a few hours, maybe skinning some animals, and selling it all for a decent price. "But first," he said to no one in particular, "I have to eat something. Maybe I'll ask Alfresco if he's got any spare bacon, maybe some sausage or eggs too."

As he was about to exit his small home, he stopped and gazed at the sky frowning. There was nothing wrong with it in but Al felt as if something were to happen. And whatever it was, it certainly wouldn't be good. ""You're working too hard," he told himself shaking his head, "now you're imagining things. Nothing is going to happen out of the ordinary." But as he said it, he began to doubt his own words.

Julian breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the shape of land starting to form; this trip wasn't for nothing after all. Logan had instructed them that if he and Laura were going to where Legion would be to leave everything tech related from phones to emergency distress signals. "The last thing ya wanna do is piss them the hell off," Logan had said before they left, "But we'll keep contact with yous through Frost. You signal her, we come running."

Julian almost laughed at that, "I doubt we'll run in to trouble there but thanks for the tip." The Canadian growled at his statement and left without another word.

Laura was outside breathing the fresh air, she however, was always cautious in any situation, ready to leap into action at any given moment. Julian noted that behind the calmness, there was also ferocity in her emerald eyes. "So," she said, finally breaking the silence between them, "You think Alex will be happy to see us?"

Julian shrugged, "You, for sure, me, I'm not too sure."

"…Is it true he once had a crush on me?" Laura asked looking at him curiously. Julian was caught off guard by the question; he didn't know what to say.

"Yes…I mean…No…I mean…I don't know, why?"

"Just wondering if some of the rumors flying around were true, that's all,"

Julian gulped, he didn't much care for most of them, but he prayed that one wasn't. *Just the idea…* Julian thought looking at her. Another horrible thought entered his mind, *What if _she_ likes _him_? No Julian,* He said reassuring himself, *they're just friends. Quit making it harder on yourself.* Then it actually hit him, how Alex and Laura were so much alike. The easiest common trait they shared was their love for combat, however, while it took Laura a long time to get out of the "living weapon" phase that the facility forced her into, she is ok with killing people even if she didn't like it. Alex never had those intentions, no, his reasons to fight were to save lives and not end them, and although Julian knew Alex could kill just as easy as Laura could, he would only do it as a last resort.

The memories of when Zabula possessed Legions body were creeping their way out of the back of Julian's mind. Had Laura not interrupted the silence once more, Julian would have remembered the gruesome sight of what Legion had become, something that reminded everyone that they all had a dark side waiting to be set free.

Julian was glad that they would reach dry land soon; he almost forgot that they would still need to travel to the other side of the island on foot to reach the village.(to avoid scaring the locals of course. The last thing he wanted was to be branded a warlock or anything supernatural for that matter)

Al sat near the river bank leaning back on a tree for shade, his fishing rod in his left hand. He had sat there for about three hours and got nothing up to this point. Why did he even bother? It was his day off, so why was he even here? At this point, not even the promises of money and warmer blankets were enough to get him to care. Al then heard the familiar soft footsteps of Luke growing nearer.

"Hey Al," The dirty blonde haired boy said giving him a smile that was missing a few teeth, "Watcha up to, isn't it your day off today?"

The older boy sighed, "Yeah, it is," he replied giving a yawn, "even I don't know what I'm doing here." This made Luke laugh. He seated himself next to Al and stared into the river.

That's when Al noticed it; the rivers reflection. Only when he began staring at it did he see that the rivers reflection did not mirror the peaceful grassland that he and the younger boy sat on. Instead, he saw a field of withered grass and dead trees all around. Behind them, a tower covered in mist pierced the cloudless blood red sky that was hanging over them.

"Watcha looking at Al?" Luke asked seeing the surprised expression on his face, whatever the boy said seemed to snap Al out of the trance he was in.

Al stared at the boy for a brief second before answering him,"…Nothing Luke, just daydreaming I guess."

"Oh, are you thinking about your old friends?"

"No."

"Do you miss them?"

Al thought a moment, "A little." He lied, "Sometimes I wish I didn't leave them."

"I wished I could have met them, the way you talk about them, they seem really nice."

Al smiled at the boy, "Maybe you will someday," he said getting up, "it all depends when and if they come to visit." *You see,* Al thought to himself, *you are working too hard, undeniable proof right there, now you're seeing things.* he turned back; the boy was running to meet his sister to feed the horses. "Or was I…could that have been real?"

As the two X-men walked, Julian noticed the beauty of the island; had he and Laura been on a romantic vacation, this place would've been perfect. Laura herself had relaxed once she saw that there couldn't possibly be any danger here, she too had become fascinated with her surroundings. *Damn, if anyone from the school saw us here, they'd get the wrong idea.* Julian thought as he and Laura continued onward glad that both of them agreed it be better to walk. They came across a spring in which Julian proceeded to wipe the sleep out of his eyes. He hadn't slept well even before he left L.A. , and judging from the bags under Laura's eyes, she wasn't getting much sleep either, she just didn't complain about it.

"So how long do you think we'll be traveling?" Julian asked her splashing refreshing water in his face.

Laura shook her head, "I don't really know." She answered walking over to the spring and gazing at her reflection, "If we keep the pace we started with we should be there either by tonight or by sunrise tomorrow."

"Is resting for the night out of the question?" Julian practically begged, but then wished he hadn't. He wasn't sure how much nightmares he could take. Then, worrying about his friend, he added, "I mean, you look ready to collapse, maybe we should-" Laura cut the boy off before he could finish.

"I appreciate your concern Julian," she said taking a drink of water, "but it takes way more than a few sleepless nights to make me fall. What about you, think you can make it?"

Julian felt ready to collapse from exhaustion, but somehow managed to reply. "Yeah, if you can take it I'm pretty sure I can too."

Laura smiled at the boy's confidence, it was one of the reasons she took a liking to him, even if he didn't know it. "Come on then," she said offering her hand, "are we just about done here?"

"Almost," Julian answered, "I'll just refill the canteens, unless you'd like to spend the rest of the day without water at hand."

"Water would be nice." Laura said taking another sip from the spring.

The sun was already setting as Laura and Julian continued walking, nighttime was beautifully mysterious here, but Julian had the feeling that the land in his dreams be it real or not, was more enchanting. The boy whistled, "Man, Alex better roll out the red carpet for us when we get there," he said fantasying about a pleasant sleep in a well prepared bed, "man what I wouldn't give for a long, long sleep right now."

Laura nodded her head in agreement, "He really doesn't know we're here." She pointed out, "Likely, he'll let us sleep in his home." From what they'd been seeing, the houses here consisted of small huts with barley enough room for two let alone another person. She wasn't worried in the least bit however, knowing Alex, he'll volunteer to sleep on the floor if he had to. "I've been thinking, you think Alex has been dreaming the same nightmares we have?"

"Why would you think that?" Julian asked slowing down so he wouldn't leave Laura behind.

"These dreams are drawing us to this place, to him. If he's not the source of it, then I think he's on the same boat we are."

"Or in trouble," Julian added, "either way the dreams are growing worse since we-"

"Listen," Laura said suddenly on edge, "do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Julian asked, he's eyes glowed green as soon as Laura extended her claws.

By the time Laura could register what was going on, they were already surrounded. From every direction they came, but Laura could neither see nor sniff them out. Both she and Julian were subdued in seconds by an enemy they couldn't see. Before they knew it, both were falling unconscious and being dragged across the ground.

Night was already falling when Al heard the scream. He had given up on fishing long before and spent the remainder of the day with the old man that owned the bar in town, helping him with things that needed to be done and earning a few coins for his troubles. Now as he returned home, Al heard a cry of terror coming from behind him. That also got the attention of the nearby men around the youth as they waited to see what emerged from the darkness. It was Enso's wife screaming at the top of her lungs, her face deathly pale and her eyes widened in terror. "He's dying!" she screams as she breaks down into tears, "My God he's dying!"

While the other four men comforted the sobbing women, Al ran home and got his equipment.

Al ran as fast as he could as his depowered self could carry him across the dark landscape with his crossbow ready to fire. He wore his old X-men gear and carried a lighter that he found in one of the jacket pockets, his only source of light.

*Whatever got Enso must've been big,* Al thought to himself, *Enso's old alright but he's tough none the less.* Al swore, "I hope I can reach him in time before…No don't think like that damn it."

When he finally reached him, Al thought Enso was a goner, but the bloodied and beaten man still had enough energy to talk.

"Those…things….came outta nowhere…" Enso said before coughing up blood, "Two kids…around your age…looked like outsiders…They were taken by those creatures…I was too weak to stop them…" The man breathed heavily after he finished speaking.

Walking over to the spot where there had clearly been a struggle, Al shone his lighter on a piece of tore fabric on the dirt. Picking it up he wrinkled his nose, it was covered in cologne, expensive cologne. Not only that, Al recognized the piece of clothing. This was one of Hellion's favorite shirts. Enso had said there were two of them, which would mean someone else was with him.

Placing the torn fabric in his pocket, Al stopped when he saw Luke standing beside the wounded with a terrified expression. "You're going after those monsters aren't you?" Luke asked in a quiet voice, "Don't go Al…"

"I have to," Al responded looking ahead, "my friends are in trouble, they need me."

"Then promise you'll come back Al…promise…" Luke said with tears dripping from his eyes. Al hated making promises he couldn't keep, he made up his mind that, even if he dies today, he would get his friends out of this mess with their lives.

"I'm ganna find out who's responsible for this," He swore, gripping his weapon tighter, "then I'm ganna make sure they don't do this to anyone else ever again." With that, the former X-men charged into the darkness.

Atop a rock overlooking the woods, a cloaked figure watched the wilderness below. "Are you certain the one wasn't with them?" He asked the person behind him.

"Positive," The other man grunted, "the other two were by themselves."

"And have the shades done their task?"

"Yes. All we have to do now is see if he takes the bait."

"Perfect," the cloaked figure said, a smile creeping into his lip, "everything is going smoothly then."

"What about the girl?" the other asked, "Won't she be a problem?"

"No. More like a person in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"But she knows about the one's past, won't she-" The cloaked figure raised a hand and silenced him.

"She won't. And even if she does, what are the odds of him believing her?" The cloaked man turned to look at his partner, "Besides, he isn't even sure of what he is. Patience, my friend, soon you'll understand."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: These next few chapters will focus more on Legion, with Laura and Julian moments here and there. (Don't worry, we'll get back to those two, and yes eventually they will all meet.)**

**Enjoy.**

**Chapter 5**

**Legion Reloaded (Breakout): **

Al ran through the dark woods, hell bent on finding Hellion and X-23 before they were harmed or worse, killed. *Keep going, keep going goddamn it!* He mentally yelled at himself as he pushed onward without even glancing back once. He knew that no matter what he had to find the two X-men and at least die trying to save them.

Al stopped and stared at the dark sky above him. The clouds were swirling around in a circular motion; he half expected lightning to strike the ground. He however got an even bigger surprise. From the middle of the circle, a dark purple substance dropped. It landed a few feet away from Al, and before he had time to react, the substance began to grow. As it grew, it began to taint the land and take life away from it. What use to be bright green grass soon greyed and ceased while nearby trees began to wither and die away.

Al took a few steps back, unsure of what to do, "Just what the hell is this?" he asked as the darkness drew closer. *If I do nothing I'll die, but God knows if I can hurt this thing.* "Crap, I'm screwed!"

Al lost his balance and fell back, losing the cross bow in the processes. There was no way he would get close enough to stab without getting sucked in, and he wasn't stupid enough to attempt it. Crawling away, the boy did the last thing that crossed his mind. Opening the flip top lighter he carried with him, he lite a small flame. "Get away from me!" he yelled as he grabbed the nearest stick, set it ablaze, and waved it in front of him.

At first, Al thought it was working, but when the dark matter began to climb the burning piece of wood, he immediately threw it, but by then the darkness was already upon him. He got up quickly and tried to shake it off, resulting in more of it clinging to his legs and back. Soon Al began to feel as if some invisible force was crushing him, forcing him to the ground. Al tried to get up on both legs using every bit of strength he had, it, however proved in vain as more and more dark matter suffocated him. Al was now disparately to drag himself out of the mess, but the force crushing his back was too much. And so the boy made the only choice he could make, he let go.

*Damn it,* Al said as his vision began to blur and a loud ringing filled his ears, *what was I thinking? Did I actually believe for one second that I could save Hellion, that I could save anyone?* Al had now begun to see black and white and hearing his heartbeat, pretty soon, he could barely see a thing. *I was never a good hero, so why out of everyone who could've saved them, they choose me, one of the depowered ones.*

For a second, as Al felt the cold embrace of death taking his last breath out of his body, he felt a familiar sensation. Something he hadn't felt in what was like an eternity; instantly, the memories of the last time came rushing back...

**Roughly one year back…**

"Get away from him Julian!" Logan yelled at Hellion over Legion's cries of agony, "Now!" But the teen stayed there, frozen in terror, staring at the humanoid being in front of him. He couldn't believe it, he used to be such a jerk, no, an asshole, to Legion and here he was taking a hit that would've killed him. *Whatever's happening to him,* Julian thought as he continued ignoring Logan, *it's my fault. It's all my fault.*

From behind all the X-men, the demon Belasco smiled in victory as he saw that his plan had resulted in a success. His taunting were enough to draw out the X-man's true instinct, or rather, the dormant Zabula, now his enemies had no chance at winning. "Witness Hell children." He hissed as Legions screams turned less human and more of those of a demon.

The screams died away and the ground ceased to tremble. Julian's legs turned to jelly and he fell to his knees, staring dead ahead to whatever emerged as the smoke was clearing. What he saw almost stopped his heart. Standing in the place of Legion was a beast that stood almost as tall as Belasco himself. The creature looked as if it were covered in darkness and spikes, its clawed arms probably capable of crushing a person's skull effortlessly and its reptilian feet made cracks on the ground it stepped on; its glowing eyes fixed on everyone in the room.

The X-men Elixir was the first to show his fear, "What…what is that thing," he muttered as he took steps away from it, "is…is that thing Legion?"

As if in response, the creature let out what sounded like the screams of absolute hatred and power, making the underground temple in which they stood violently tremble as Belasco howled a sick laughter.

"Julian." Santo said nervously giving a nod to his friend, instantly, Hellion created a telekinetic barrier separating Legion from everyone else.

"That won't do you fools much," Belasco snarled, "look," he said pointing Legion who was beginning to show signs of hostility, "you've only made it angry." To prove his point, Legion let out a growl and began charging at the invisible barrier, which each failed attempt only provoking him more.

*Is this guy made of adamantiam?* Julian thought, putting more effort into concentrating on holding back the transformed Legion. "Rachael," Hellion said turning to the red head by his side, "see if you could tap into Alex's mind, and maybe make him calm down." Sweat poured down his face as he devoted his full attention to the shield in front of him.

"I'll try," Rachael said taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, "here goes nothing." As she entered Legions mind, the girl tried to somehow reach him and make contact, she was instead answered by voices that she could not understand. *_Alex,* _she said in a despite voice, _* listen to me; we're your friends you have to fight whatever's making you do this. Let me into your subconscious so I can-* _A demonic face appeared in front of Rachael and screeched, making her ears ring and forcing her to exit.

"**_GET OUT!" _**she heard it bellow before she was knocked back into her body.

"Rachael!" Julian said, turning his attention from the shield in front of him to see his friend bleeding from the impact. It was only when he felt the intense pain on his side did he realize his mistake. Julian was thrown to the aged stone wall like a ragdoll. He didn't have the energy to get up and all the air was knocked out of his body, so Julian just watched the others try and hold back the transformed Legion, numbed with pain.

Colossus was pushing the beast back using all of his strength. Legion, clearly frustrated, began pushing back which had little to no effect on the Russian. Colossus was however, not expecting Legion to violently head-butt him repeatedly, making him loss his grip on him. The beast shoved Colossus to the ground and would've kept stomping on his ribcage if Logan hadn't interfered.

"Hate to do this ta ya kid," he said as he blocked Legions attacks and stabbing him with his claws, "but someone's gotta calm your ass down." Legions only response was a violent takedown with a kick to the skull.

Legion heard X-23 behind him, and had he been a second later, he would've gotten stabbed in the back of his neck, or worse, decapitated. Using his tail, Legion began to choke Laura and mercilessly threw her across the room a few yards from where Julian was.

Julian's eyes widened as he saw Legion headed towards the wounded Laura almost effortlessly, despite everyone trying to hold him back. "I have… I have to help her…" Julian breathed painfully. Legion was only a few feet away from Laura when he lunged at her with murderous intent. "NO!" Julian, ignoring the pain, used his telekinesis to get a hold of Legion then with all his strength hurled him back, causing a pillar or two to fall on him.

When on her feet, Laura thanked him with a quick hug, surprising him. However, she quickly pulled away when she heard a low yet angry growl. Legion limped towards them, and suddenly he put both of his hands on either side of his face and grunted in pain. Slowly, he began to revert back to his human form, with a final demonic cry; the darkness surrounding him seemed to disappear all at once. Legion stood there out of breath as Julian and Santo helped him up, "Thank God," Alex said coughing slightly, "I thought that guy would never leave."

Belasco was long gone, and for the first time Julian had both fear and respect for Alex. He almost wished he could take back what he said about his powers, because Julian didn't think he could take another encounter with that…thing.

*Yes,* Al thought, *I remember this feeling…but it's different somehow…* Rather than feel an evil presence, Al felt his strength return although still feeling like he was being crushed to death at the same time. His instincts screamed at him to get up, that he was better than this. Suddenly he felt his bones expand, his senses becoming sharper, and a wave of extreme pain as if his bones were on fire. "With this," Al said, his resolve returning as he began picking himself up, "I might just have a chance!" As the pain intensified to an unbearable amount, the boy let out a scream, but this scream didn't resemble a human scream, it sounded more ruthless then the one Zabula roared, this was a scream of a demon that had been set free.

From afar in the night, Hellion woke in cold sweat as he heard a roar sounding as if every sinner had been freed from Hell. Julian shivered, not because of the cold air around him (For he had snuggled close to Laura for warmth) but for the image that was burned at the back of his mind. "Please God," he begged, "if you're listening, don't let that day that happened a year ago repeat itself." Julian winced, remembering the pain and reluctantly went back to sleep.

Lucia flinched, had she seen what she'd thought she'd seen. She didn't need to answer that question for the proof was right in front of her. Alex, the boy she had watched for almost four years now, finally showed her what she wanted to see. His transformation, however, was odd. If he happened to be what she thought he was, then she'd never seen a stranger looking one. Then it hit her, "Of course," she said to herself aloud, "he doesn't know, he still thinks he's human." She stared at the collapsed monster and grinned a mischievous smile, "Oh well, we'll just have to make a hero out of you won't we…Now, let's see how we're ganna move you devil-boy."

"Heeeyy, waaake up aaallreadddy…" Al heard these words in his ears as he began to awaken. His body slowly began to respond and he began to see again. The first thing he noticed was wrong was his hands, one was pure white (As was the rest of his body) with claws that looked similar to those of victor creed, the other was covered in dark spikes, resembling Zabula's, with claws almost twice as long as his others. Barley being able to feel anything, Al dragged himself to the pond a few feet away from him. He realized what had happened when he looked at the reflection in the water. His face resembled a grinning skull with strange markings, his eyes were blood red with no white in them, and two horns also adorned his head. His jet black hair was almost to his waist and was a mess. As he dragged himself off the dirt, Al noticed two things: One was that he stood almost two feet taller than when he was a human, and two, unlike the last form he took; he had control of his actions in this one.

Above everything else that reached his ear, Al heard a giggle and then felt cold water being splashed on his face. Angrily turning towards the direction he heard the giggling from, he just barely caught a figure hopping across the remains of some trees. "Come on," the figure urged, it sounded like a girl's voice, "let's play a game!" Al gave a look of confusion and tilted his head to the side slightly, before he could do anything else, Al saw an arrow shoot past him and land an inch next to his foot. He turned back, a pair of velvet eyes were the only visible thing in the otherwise dark, corrupted forest. "This way devil-boy; if you win I'll tell you a story," she promised, "one that you'll find very interesting." Al angrily glared at her as she once again disappeared into the darkness, then, with his mind made up; he sprinted after her with a speed that was definitely not human.

The velvet eyed girl Lucia smiled as she noticed that Alex was tailing her. *Well, even if it's his first real transformation, he could've been faster at regaining conciseness. Let's just hope he learns how to handle his new form quickly, if not, both of us will become permanent residents of corruption.* She stopped on top of a huge tree branch overlooking a fallen dead tree blocking the path. Lucia laughed as she saw the boy's fits of confusion, "Hey, your strong aren't you?" she asked him from above. He seemed to ponder this, then without warning, he rammed the obstacle in his way until he formed a new path. The girl continued with Alex close behind her. *Well he's got his strength and speed back, now let's see if his senses haven't rusted a bit.*

Lucia stopped suddenly and hid. She slowed her heartbeat to the point of almost being dead and waited. She heard Alex stop suddenly and beginning to pace in circles, grunting in frustration once in a while. She waited, silence. Had he given up? A millisecond later, she got her answer as claws that resembled knives nearly pinned her to the ground. *_No more games, tell me your damn story.* _

Lucia stared at him in disbelief, she heard him in her mind clear as day. And here she thought he would be like most others, not being able to communicate in any way with other people. She gave him her usual mischievous smile, "Alright," she said, "you win. But first, let me go will ya?"

The teen relaxed and let her go as instructed, then sat down in front of her as she began her tale.

**A/N: I think I dragged this one a little too much, but I'll do more like these if you like this better.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: O.k, I'm not the type of person to beg for a review, but it would be really nice and appreciated if I get one or two here and there. (If this story's that bad, let me know) I'd also like to thank all the people how have even bothered to read this as well as the people who faved and are following this. Anyways on to Chapter 6:**

**Chapter 6**

**Remember The Darkrealmers: **

The velvet eyed girl thought on how to explain everything to the impatient idiot in front of her and somehow make it all believable. She decided she would begin with the simplest question she could come up with. "Have you ever gone to a place called Limbo?" Al thought for a moment, remembering all his time as an X-man.

_*Yeah,* _He spoke in her head, *_I think I have.*_

The girl shook her head, "You sure?"

_*I swear I have, that was the first time I ever turned into this monster while we fought Bel-* _the girl cut him off before he could even finish his thought.

"Wrong," she said studying his puzzled face, "_you _didn't transform on your own free will, Zabula took over your body. Al gave her a look of shock that read "How the hell did you know that?" She shook her head in disbelief, "You really don't know do you?"

"Do I have to spell it out for you?" She asked not even waiting for an answer. "You. Are. Not. Human."

*_No really, is that why I'm called a mutant?* _His tone indicated he was mocking her, this irritated her severely.

"I'm serious you jackass," She said in a pissed off tone, "If you think you're like your pals at that school, you're in for a rude awakening. Let me explain." By this time, the girl had already begun to calm down; she again paused to collect her thoughts. "Look, you know all about that religion stuff they teach you about angels and demons, right?" He slowly nodded his head unaware of where this crazy girl was going with this. "Well…look, don't freak out trust me it sucks…but…your technically, technically, a demon, to get you to understand."

There was a long moment of silence, and the, *_Two words. Bull. Shit.*_

"You think this is bullshit," She asked pointing a finger at him, "why don't you take a look in the mirror?" That got to him, he let out something that resembled a sigh and gestured for her to continue. "Ok," she admitted, "I kinda went overboard on the demon thing, you sure as hell look like one, but you aren't one…"

_*Go on*_

"…You're what people nowadays call a Darkrealmer."

*_Darkrealmer?*_

"Darkrealmer, Darksider, shadow person, demi-demon, however you want to call it, that's what you and me are. Some of the most brutal fighters and warriors are also of this race, as well as some of the wisest…"

*_But…"_

The girl sighed, a sad sigh that told Al he wasn't going to like how it ends. "There's only a handful of us left alive, after we got kicked out of our home that is. Now, the world just forgot about us. Our existence is now probably just a child's fairy tale."

*_One question*_

The girl looked up at the beast, "Let's hope I have the answer."

*_Just how did you find me, and how do you know so much about me?*_

"That one's easy," she replied with a half-smile, "Simply put, I was bored and it just happened, I met you when you were around six or seven and from the first time I saw you, I could tell you weren't human. You showed none of the characteristics, and since you were never aware of it, your powers were sealed away. Although some of them did leak out around the time you went to that school, and then there was the whole Zabula thing. But what interests me is the fact that you've managed to keep looking like a regular human, unlike me who as you can see cannot do that to save my life."

The girl moved closer to the light of the moon so that Al could get a better look. Her skin was pale, very pale, and ghostlike. What struck her as odd was a smoke like aura that was clearly visible and surrounded her from head to toe. Other than that, she looked like a regular 16 year old teenaged girl with short black hair in a small bun. "So, I guess it's time we properly introduce ourselves huh," she said, sheepishly holding out her hand, "Hey Alex, I'm Lucia."

*Legion,* the boy corrected taking her hand, *call me Legion.*

"Seriously," Lucia said rolling her eyes, "what kind of a name is that?"

*Look, everyone in the school used to call me that ok? It's my codename; if you want to give me a name, you can call me either that or Al.*

"Whatever Legion," she said with a mocking tone. "Hey," she said as Legion turned towards where the faint sent of Hellion's cologne still lingered, "where do you think you're going?" Lucia asked him, although the look on his face told her his motives. "You can't just dash over there and save your friends."

*_Why?_* Legion telepathically asked

"Well for starters, we have to get rid of all this corruption." Lucia pointed out getting up, "Even we can't stay in it for long without suffering any ill effect."

_*Corruption?*_ He asked looking around, *_I don't see anything wrong.*_

Lucia slapped the front of her face, "Are you blind?" she asked him sighing, "Look around you, everything's corrupted, dead, lifeless."

*_So how do we fix it?* _Legion asked, fully paying attention

"Good question," she said, "first, let's turn you back into a human then we'll figure everything else." Legion looked at her as if waiting for her to finish, "And…I don't know exactly how we're going to accomplish that."

_*Great, we're screwed; my friends are screwed, then, what's next?*_

Lucia's eyes beamed wide, "Wait," she said as a smile creped on her lips, "you have a healing factor don't you?"

_*Yeah, I'm guessing because I turned into this, I got most of my powers back.*_

"Great," she said jumping onto the nearest tree, "to pass the time while you're resting up and regaining your strength, we could look for the source of the corruption in this area." Lucia began to jump from tree to tree gracefully, "Keep up ya slowpoke!" she called back as her voiced died away. Legion turned back and gave a small growl, then raced to keep up with his new partner in the darkness of the forest.

_*So how does me healing turn me back to normal?* _Legion asked. At first he thought his healing factor didn't return, but after a while he'd begun to feel better and was almost thankful it came back; defects and all.

"Simple," Lucia said reappearing in a tree next to him, "when you transformed a few hours ago you were close to dying, add corruption to the mix and your powers awakening naturally, and there, you were saved from a very painful death. Once you're back in shape, your powers should go dormant again until you need them,"

At that very moment, a corrupted creature, which more or less looked like the demons the X-men faced in "Limbo", appeared out of the ground, followed by two more. "Ah, perfect timing," Lucia said rubbing her hands as she turned back to Alex, "these Dusks are made entirely out of corrupted energy." She said pointing at them, "They almost always travel in groups, and when one goes down another takes its place. If you ask me, they're the perfect training dummy."

Legion got the message and preceded to natural bare his sharp teeth as a wild animal would do. The head Dusk gave a sort of screech before he and the others charged at their opponent. Lucia watched as the Dusks were ripped to shreds, occasionally shooting one or two with her arrows. *For a Darkrealmer who believed he was human his entire life, he's getting use to his majin form quicker than I expected. But we can't stall around here anymore, I'm already feeling the aftereffects of being exposed to corruption for too long.*

"Hey Al," Lucia called from the tree branch above him, "we gotta go, like now." Legion turned to look at her and nodded, ignoring the remaining Dusks, Al started running towards the direction he and Lucia were headed towards, in which said girl landed in his back, bow and arrow ready. "You know," she commented as she missed her shot completely, "this would be much simpler if you were running in all fours."

*_You want to get away from here or not?* _Legion asked as he looked back to see that the Dusks were screaming in rage.

The girl opened her mouth to say a witty comeback, but instead she muttered, "Good point." Even after they outran the Dusks, Legion didn't stop running until after about half an hour.

"I think we've gained enough distance Al," Lucia said holding as she massaged her head, "you can stop now." She slowly got off his shoulders and collapsed on the ground.

*_What's up, you look a little sick.*_ the boy commented sitting down for a breather. 

""You don't feel it?" Lucia asked, "Either I'm coming down with something or we're getting close. My head feels like's its ganna explode any minute." She sighed and gazed at the starless night overhead to try and relax.

*_Now that I think about it, I kinda feel lightheaded,* _Al muttered, nodding his head to the road in front of him, *_If it's what you think it is, then we can't afford to stay here any longer.* _

"Right," Lucia said getting up, "Let's go Al, the sooner we're done, the sooner we can take a break." As she said these words, Lucia fell back down with a curse. Al gave a low growl and mentally sighed.

*_I'm going to have to carry you the rest of the way aren't I?* _the girl simply nodded when the beast finished speaking in her head. With another low growl, Al picked up Lucia and piggybacked her onwards.

Julian sat with Laura close to his side, watching whatever held them captive prepare themselves. He knew that this was the perfect time to sleep, because trying to sleep while being dragged across the dirt floor was not one of his best ideas. In the back of his mind a voice urged him to escape with Laura, to contact Frost, but something was preventing him from reaching her. As for escaping, both have tried, twice. Whenever they would gain some distance, those creatures would somehow catch up and dragged them back with the others.

At first, he and Laura were the only ones that had been captured. Then as they began to stop more often, more came and pretty soon about five others joined them. So now Julian waited for the beasts to bring back the man who was despite enough to escape while no one was looking, despite Julian's warnings, he went in and did it.

Julian was right, after about 20 minutes he saw him being dragged back and thrown with the rest of them. Then everyone went back to what they were doing as if nothing happened. Julian sighed as he looked at Laura, who silently said, "Get some sleep." And although that was the last thing he wanted to do, he did it anyways.

He half expected to have a brutal nightmare again, one that would wake him up in sweat; however, as he drifted to sleep, Julian felt at peace, and then he dreamt.

In his dream, the boy stood over a corrupted field with burning grass, falling ash, and a dark menacing tower behind him…coming out of it were hordes of demons. Suddenly, a blinding golden light came out of the heavens and landed directly a few yards in front of him. Julian saw that as the divine light radiated the ground it brought life back to it, the creatures of the dark retreated upon seeing the light and began yelling curses at the heavens as the gates of the tower closed. Julian did not get to see the now beatified field however, because the dream ended right then and there. Julian didn't need to see it however, he had gotten the message.

"There's hope," he whispered to himself, and then he did something that surprised even himself. He prayed. He prayed that he, Laura and the other's would get out of this alive, he prayed for the X-men to somehow receive his distress call, and he prayed that Alex, wherever he was, wasn't in the situation they were in.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Had stuff to do, but I'm back, Anyways enjoy**

**Chapter 7**

**Human Again:**

"You can let me down now ya know," Lucia told her companion as they continued along the dark path, "and will you quit being so on edge, if we run into anything, you could take it," she looked at him with confusion in her eyes, "can't you?"

Legion let out a grunt, then mentally sighed, *_I'm not indestructible Lucia, I'm just one guy.* _The duostopped to catch their breath and relax for a while. _*I'll be right back,* Legion_ announced, *_I'm going_ _hunting, stay put I won't be gone long.*_ with that, Alex ran west on all like a dog, disappearing in the darkness.

"Now you wanna run on all fours huh?" Lucia muttered, then stopped remembering her own growling stomach, "If I call for him now, he won't hear me even with those enhanced senses. I doubt he'll find anything, after all, everything's dead isn't it?" She shuddered at the image of Al bringing back a dead monster, the very thought almost made her puke. *Please don't be _that_ despite.*

*_I'm back_,* the boy mentally told Lucia as he came trotting back with a dead calf. He threw it on the ground for her to examine.

"What is that?" Lucia asked as the gaging in her mouth returning as she stared at the dead animal. "Is that…what humans …eat?" she asked turning to Al. The boy simply nodded. "How did you even find it?"

He shrugged, *_Guess corruption doesn't touch what's already dead.* _Now the girl looked horrified.

"You're ganna eat it and you have no idea how long it's been dead?" Lucia asked now sickened by the thought.

*_What, you've never seen people eat beef?*_ Legion asked tilting his head slightly, if he could grin, Lucia swore he was doing it now.

"I've never tasted human food," the girl admitted looking back at the dead body, "so, this is where it comes from?" Lucia took a few steps back, and for once, cursed her own enhanced senses, for the smell of flesh rotting slowly invaded her nostrils.

*_Well some not all,*_ Legion replied as he used his claws to skin the dead animal, *_wait, what do Darkrealmers normally eat?*_ He was curious, if Lucia had never seen beef or meat, then what was their diet?

"Well," she said looking back at him, "vegetation for starters, most of us never tried meat, especially since some of the more animalistic one prefer to cannibalize…I've always wanted to try it, but now I'm not so sure…"

Al shrugged, "Suit yourself; if you get hungry there's enough to last us a few days."

"That's ok," the girl said lying on her back, "I'm going to sleep for a bit until we keep going. We can't really stay that long out here remember." The beast simply nodded and went back to his task.

Al looked up at the sky as he and Lucia were still traveling, still starless and blood red. *But, the sun should be up about now, hopefully, when we clear this mess out.* By now Legion was feeling the aftereffects Lucia was talking about, to the point of finding it hard to even breath.

He was half thankful when they found the source of corruption on the island.

It was a circle practically oozing out black liquid-like substance in the middle of four dead trees. (That looked like they pulsated once in a while) And at first, Al thought it was unguarded, even the Dusks would get near it as if afraid. *_This'll be a piece of cake_.* Al thought as he began walking towards it. Lucia had figured if corruption wouldn't get near him, Al would have to be the one to cure the land.

However, as the boy neared it, Lucia sensed something and her eyes widened. "Al watch out, we're not al-" Before she could complete her sentence, Al was hit with a brutal swing of a battle ax. In front of him stood a corrupted that stood almost eight feet tall with a hunchback, a large battle ax with Al's fresh blood was in his hands.

Without a moment's hesitation, Al got back up and blindly charged the thing, getting slammed to the ground and almost beheaded, had it not been for Lucia's arrows. The corrupted gave a loud roar of pain, taking his chance; Al rolled away and rejoined Lucia a few yards back, leaving a trail of blood behind him.

"What happened?" Lucia asked, getting another arrow ready, "Even if your healing factor's working overtime, you should've healed by now."

*_That's the thing about my healing factor, it only works when it wants to.* _

"What? Then stay back, I'll-hey what the hell are you doing?" Lucia saw Al charging the monster again, and she put her bow down.

Giving an angry roar, Al lunged at the corrupted with his claws and teeth bared, only to be knocked aside by it as if he were nothing but trash. Apparently, the monster saw the girl shooting arrows as more of a threat then the horned beast it was currently fighting.

Lucia went to Legion and looked ready to slap him, or maybe even kill him. "Alex, do you know what you just did you fool?" she asked angrily dragging him to his feet, and violently shaking him, "You've disgraced Darkrealmers everywhere!" Lucia, with fire in her eyes, pointed to the creature who, at this point, was tired of just standing around. "If you keep attacking it like that, you'll never beat it. Use your head will ya?"

Legion stopped for a second then charged at the creature as if he were a bull. Lucia slapped her forehead, "That's not what I meant you idiot." To her surprise however, Legion's suicidal idea worked.

Tackling the thing to the ground, Al landed a few hits to its face before it recovered from the unexpected attack. Taking a few steps back as the monster, now clearly angered, rose to its feet, Al waited for an opening. He was not expecting the corrupted to run at him and kick the air out of his lungs, sending him back with a loud thump as he hit the ground. Quickly, Al got up in time to see his opponent's hand in mid swing and the ax inches from his head. Al raised his left arm almost on instinct and was surprised when he didn't feel the agonizing pain of a giant blade cutting through his flesh, in fact, he didn't feel anything.

Only when he looked up did he see the dumbfounded expressions on both Lucia's and the monsters face, and his arm fully intact. The monster swung again, this time with more force, and the same thing occurred. *_It's a shield.*_ Al quickly realized, his mind already forming a plan. The monster swung the third hit and almost lost its balance, leaving him wide open. Before it regained his footing, Al curled his claws into a fist and swung repeatedly at it until it dropped its weapon.

Al finally made the corrupted fall to the ground with a loud thud. Before it could get up, Al grabbed the enormous battle ax and struck it where its heart should be, brought it up again, and struck him a second time. Finally, he struck it a third time in between its eyes and left the ax there. In seconds, it and the monster were reduced to dust.

The sickness in the air had almost but disappeared and even the circle seemed weaker than before. Lucia and Al looked at each other than at the circle before both walked over to it. Lucia had just barely touched the pulsating piece of land when a light consumed it; blinding the two.

Legion could only stand in awe as the land returned to not only its former beauty, but magnified almost five times more. It could've also been that he was sick of seeing everything dead, and his loaning to see the sunrise again.

Al however, noticed he was still not human. *_It didn't work Lucia.*_ He said hanging his head with a weak growl.

"Then maybe there is no way to-" Lucia was cut off as she witnessed the boy's transformation.

Al's red eyes widened as if he had been shot, the black spikes on his left hand sunk in to his skin, and his artic white skin began to shed away along with his long hair, his horns broke off, and the girl could hear bones reassembling themselves as Al returned to his normal size.

Al blinked his eyes twice before they returned to their normal color. He was speechless; looking at his former body as if it were alien. The left sleeve of his jacket was now completely gone, exposing his left arm. He sat in the now lively green grass looking at both of his hands in silence.

The girls walked over to him, "Well, guess that's two problems solved," she said looking around the revived forest, "how do you feel?"

"Like I switched bodies with Wolverine," Al said stretching his arms, "seriously this feels too stiff."

"The shook will pass," Lucia assured, "and your muscles will loosen up." *I hope…if not…* she thought silently to herself. "So…ready to save your friends?" She asked, Legion eagerly nodded and pretty soon the two were on their way.

Bail sighed and tossed yet another book aside. He had spent over five hours looking over books on meaningless subjects to pass the time until his shades returned. He let out a yawn and leaned back on his chair for a cat nap. When he opened his eyes again, he didn't need to look up to see he wasn't alone anymore. In front of him stood a figure that wore a black cloak with the hood hiding his face. Bail straightened, "How much time do you think it will take the shades will return?" He asked clearing his throat. When he got no response, Bail sighed, "Can't blame me for not trying." Bail scratched his already greying bread as he rose from his chair. "This can't be," He muttered looking back to his hooded companion, "one of the chosen has fallen, that would mean…he's alive and coming after us."

"No," the hooded man said in a low voice with a small chuckle, "he's coming after _you_." As he was leaving, he stopped hearing a faint laughter. Turning, he saw the old man laughing.

"You're as much a part of this as I am" he said with a grin, "Tell me, your name again?"

The man slowly turned, his milky white eyes practically glowed as he looked at Bail, then, in an emotionless voice rasped silently, "My name is Zabula, prince of anarchy and heresy."

**A/N: So tell me what did you think of the fight in this chapter? (I wanted to make it longer really so if it disappoints, apologizes in advance.)**


	8. ON HOLD

**ON HOLD NOTICE:**

**Well guys, hate to say it, but I'm stuck with this one. I HATE when this happens, but it did. The main reason I putting this story on hold is because I've got writers block with this one, and aside from that I've got a lot on my plate at the moment. This was really just an experiment, but I'm happy some people enjoyed it. So am I going to continue? I hope, but at the moment I can't. (If you'd like, you can read my Legend of Zelda fic. I personally find it easier to write than this, and, am currently devoting as much time as I can to it. I'm really proud of it so far.) So see you when I get over this annoying writers block. (Hopefully)…**


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